More than two drinks a day in middle-age may raise your stroke risk more than traditional factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes, warns a study. Regular heavy drinking can raise blood pressure and cause heart failure or irregular heartbeats over the time with repeated drinking of alcohol, in addition to stroke and other risks. "For mid-aged adults, avoiding more than two drinks a day could be a way to prevent stroke in later age," said Pavla Kadlecova, statistician at St Anne's University Hospital's International Clinical Research Center in the Czech Republic.

11,644 middle-aged Swedish twins were followed for 43 years and researchers compared the effects of an average of more than two drinks daily (heavy drinking) to less than half a drink daily (light drinking). They found that heavy drinkers had about a 34 percent higher risk of stroke compared to light drinkers.

Heavy drinkers have the chance of increased stroke risk in their mid-life compared to well-known risk factors like high blood pressure and diabetes. At around the age of 75, blood pressure and diabetes take over as one of the main influences on having a stroke, the researchers found. "We now have a clearer picture about these risk factors, how they change with age and how the influence of drinking alcohol shifts as we get older," Kadlecova said.

By Premji